Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Ethan didn’t pay any attention to the people around him.

Instead, he activated his stealth ability and moved toward the building across the way.

Silent as a shadow, he passed right by people without them noticing a thing.

The building ahead was both a storage facility for supplies and a resting place for members of the Black Hand Legion.

At that moment, Victor Cross was inside a spacious room. As the overseer of this compound, he was practically a warlord, living a life of debauchery and excess.

Before the world went to hell, he had been nothing more than a butcher at a slaughterhouse.

But after joining the Black Hand Legion, his ruthless nature had propelled him up the ranks to a supervisory position. His greatest weakness? His son.

Victor was a massive man, easily weighing over 220 pounds. He sat at a dining table piled high with freshly roasted meat, steam still rising from it.

Grabbing a chunk, he shoved it into his mouth, chewing noisily as grease dripped down his chin. The rich, savory flavor made his eyes light up.

”Damn, that’s good,” he muttered in satisfaction.

From the shape of the meat in his hand, it looked suspiciously like half of a giant rat.

”Careful, honey, you’ll choke.”

Two nearly naked women sat beside him, wiping his mouth with towels.

Chains were fastened around their necks, the ends secured to the legs of his chair—proof of just how depraved he was.

Victor let out a booming laugh, his thick fingers roaming freely over the women’s bodies.

This wasn’t the apocalypse.

This was paradise.

At least, that’s how Victor saw it.

And with the Black Hand Legion growing stronger by the day, taking over one city meant they could take another. Hell, maybe one day they’d rule the whole damn world.

”Hey, where the hell is my son? Why isn’t he here for dinner? Go get him.”

”Understood, sir.”

Two guards standing by the door nodded and turned to leave.

But just as they reached for the door—

They froze.

Their bodies stiffened unnaturally, faces contorting in agony.

”Hm?” Victor looked up, frowning in confusion.

”What the hell’s wrong with you two?”

Crack!

The only response was the sickening sound of bones shattering.

The guards collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, their bodies crumpling into grotesque, twisted heaps on the floor.

”What the…”

Victor’s frown deepened. He shot up from his seat, an uneasy feeling creeping into his gut. Something was very, very wrong.

And then—

Ethan appeared in the doorway.

His sharp gaze swept across the room before settling on Victor.

”This must be the place.”

Victor’s breath hitched.

”You… Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?”

A cold dread gripped him.

Facing Ethan felt like standing before a predator—an instinctual, primal fear clawed at his insides.

Even the two enslaved women, who had seen Victor commit unspeakable acts without flinching, were stunned to see him looking so afraid.

Ethan’s voice was calm, almost casual.

”Your son told me you’d be here. Oh, and don’t bother calling him for dinner. Chances are… someone else is eating him right now.”

Victor’s expression darkened.

”What?”

Ethan wasn’t bluffing.

The prisoners locked up in this hellhole had been starving for days. Given the chance to take revenge on the bastard who had tormented them, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had literally torn him apart with their teeth.

Victor’s face twisted in rage and panic.

”Guards! Get in here! Now!”

Ethan didn’t stop him.

The commotion in the hallway drew immediate attention. Within seconds, armed men stormed into the room, their eyes locking onto Ethan.

In an instant, they surrounded him.

Most of the men surrounding Ethan were high-ranking members—leaders within the compound’s management.

Ethan glanced around at them and, to their shock, actually said, ”Thanks.”

Then, without another word, he unleashed Domain of the Dead.

A crushing, suffocating pressure exploded outward, spreading rapidly and engulfing the entire room.

Everyone froze in place.

Ethan swung his tachi in a single, fluid motion.

Heads flew.

Like slicing through fruit, his blade cleaved through necks effortlessly. Skulls tumbled to the ground with dull thuds, rolling across the blood-slick floor.

Scarlet sprayed in every direction.

Bodies collapsed, twitching for a moment before going still.

”Ugh…”

Victor stood there, stunned. His gut clenched with a sickening realization.

As an A+ ranked Awakener, he was just a step away from S-rank—strong enough to barely withstand Domain of the Dead.

But that didn’t stop the fear from sinking its claws into him.

Ethan’s movements were too precise. Too practiced.

The Black Hand Legion was full of killers, but they were usually brutal, sadistic, or downright psychotic when they took a life.

Ethan, though?

He was indifferent.

Like this was nothing.

Like slaughtering people was just another part of his daily routine.

This guy… he’s used to killing.

Victor’s mind raced.

In the blink of an eye, his men were gone.

Ethan tilted his head slightly. ”Anyone else?”

Victor was speechless.

This man—no, this thing—wasn’t human.

The aura he exuded… it was more like a Zombie King.

A powerful one.

No wonder he had said thank you earlier.

How the hell had a Zombie King gotten in here?

Victor’s jaw tightened. ”Where’s my son? Did you kill him?”

Ethan dragged his tachi across the floor, stepping forward at a slow, deliberate pace. ”You’ll be seeing him soon.”

Victor’s face twisted in rage.

”I’LL KILL YOU!”

With a furious snarl, he lunged like a rabid dog.

Ethan watched him, mildly amused.

Then—

He swung his blade.

Shing—

...

Meanwhile…

On the third floor of the compound, a body suddenly crashed through a window.

Glass shattered, shards raining down as the corpse plummeted to the ground.

”Huh?”

The Black Hand Legion members in the courtyard turned, startled.

That… wasn’t normal.

”Who the hell was that?”

”Probably some idiot who screwed up and let a prisoner escape. Looks like they jumped to their death.”

”Let’s check it out.”

The group moved closer, gathering around the body.

The sight that greeted them was gruesome.

The corpse’s limbs had been hacked off.

Deep claw marks and bite wounds covered its flesh.

Chunks of skin were missing, and half of its face had been torn away, exposing raw gums and jagged teeth.

Even his own mother wouldn’t have recognized him.

The Black Hand Legion members exchanged uneasy glances.

They still assumed it was just some unfortunate prisoner who had chosen to end their suffering.

But then—

One of them frowned.

”Wait a second…”

His eyes locked onto the corpse’s chest.

Through the tattered, blood-soaked fabric, he spotted something.

A tattoo.

A skeletal head gripped by a black hand.

His breath caught in his throat.

”This… this is Damien!”

”What?! No way!”

The others recoiled in shock.

Everyone knew how much Victor adored his son.

If Damien had died like this… the consequences would be unimaginable.

The first man swallowed hard. ”I’m sure of it. I’ve seen his chest before—he had that exact tattoo.”

Before anyone could process the horror of what that meant—

From the first floor, the sound of rattling chains echoed through the air.

Then—

BANG!

The main doors burst open.

...